“For most conspicuous bravery and initiative in attack. Enemy machine guns from a concrete blockhouse, 250 yards away, were holding up the advance of the battalion on his left, and were also causing heavy casualties to his own battalion. Sgt. Cooper, with four men, immediately rushed towards the blockhouse although heavily fired on. About a hundred yards distant he ordered his men to lie down and fire at the blockhouse. Finding this did not silence the machine guns, he immediately rushed forward straight at them and fired his revolver into an opening in the blockhouse. The machine guns ceased firing and the garrison surrendered. Seven machine guns and forty-six prisoners were captured in the blockhouse. By this magnificent act of courage he undoubtedly saved what might have been a serious check to the whole advance, at the same time saving a great number of lives.” After this the 6th K.S.L.I. and the 12th K.R.R.C. continued to advance; they mopped up all shelters and dug-outs which they passed, and in this way killed many of the enemy and took a further 46 prisoners. They then formed up east of the second objective, ready to move forward to the attack. On the left, once the station and the railway trucks had been cleared, comparatively little opposition was met. The losses, however, in the first stages of the battle had been heavy. Second-Lieut. Robinson was the only company officer of the K.O.Y.L.I. left after reaching the first objective; he had a very trying time and set a splendid example throughout. Sgt. S. Goodman and Sgt. G. H. Jackson deserve great credit for the way in which they took their companies to the second objective when all their officers had been hit. The right of the 61st Brigade had some trouble with machine guns and snipers in the outskirts of Langemarck, but the mopping-up parties did their work thoroughly and accounted for any of the enemy who were left behind the leading wave. On this front, too, there had been heavy losses. One company of the Somersets had no officers left and lost touch with the rest of the battalion. Second-Lieut. J. R. Hill, M.C., of “D” Company, got these men together and then took his own company on to the objective. Although wounded in the face and leg, he remained in command until he was satisfied that the position was assured. He was awarded a bar to his M.C. The mopping-up parties for the village were twice the strength of the assaulting troops; they worked from shell-hole to shell-hole under cover of Lewis gun fire and then bombed the enemy out of each concrete dug-out in turn. In one blockhouse the Somersets took 1 officer and 30 men; in another 40 men and 4 machine guns. The 12th King’s and the 7th D.C.L.I., who had sustained a good many casualties in following close behind the leading battalions, formed up on the second objective.